Establishing the role of coal in sustainable development

Terry Wall

CRC for Coal in Sustainable Development

Plenary lecture

19th Annual International Pittsburgh Coal Conference, September 23-27, 2002

Contents

Sustainability and sustainable development

Why CCSD?

….an oxymoron ( a seeming contradiction)

Research that makes a difference

Conclusions

…..with updates from PCC 2001 plenary presentations by Cain and Wibberley

COAL IS IMPORTANT TO AUSTRALIA ……Economically Socially Environmentally• Black coal is Australia's largest export industry, 78% of Australia's black coal is exported

•generates 84% of electricity

• 10% of Australia's exports

• The black coal industry employs around 20,000 directly

• Electricity generation from black coal accounts for about one-third of total Australian emissions of C02, excluding net land use change.

Exports

Electricity

Australia is different from our counterpartsStrong economic growth has occurred as the economy has become

more energy intensive

Future growth depends on continuing value adding

10

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3519

73

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1977

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1995

Ene

rgy

inte

nsity

Australia

Japan

US

Energy is central to SD

Energy is intrinsically linked with the three pillars of sustainable development

o social well-beingo environmental stewardshipo economic prosperity

Major energy sources are considered unsustainable in long term

Alternative energy sources have limitations

…. We will be living with coal for a long time

---SUSTAINABLE Dictionary definition (Oxford)

“Supportable Maintainable”

---OUR COMMON FUTURE,The World Commission on Environment and Development, 'The BrundtlandReport’,1987

"SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IS DEVELOPMENT THAT MEETS THE NEEDS OF THE PRESENT WITHOUT COMPROMISING THE ABILITY OF FUTURE GENERATIONS TO MEET THEIR OWN NEEDS"

Definitions

Sustainable development: Cain, PCC 2001

“How to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to

meet their own needs”

Meet economic, social and environmental goals simultaneously

A coherent framework for understanding how business and society should interact

An ongoing process, not a destination

…………………“Development that lasts”

Coal and SD : Cain, PCC 2001

Mixed acceptance that coal is needed

….but coal dependence cannot be quickly changed

Improved environmental performance essential

Advantages:

o Abundant, widely dispersed and economicalo Secure, easily stored and transported

Challenges

o Environmental performanceo Social impacts and perceptions

New technology development and deployment central to improving coal’s SD performance

THE WORLD’s LIGHTS AT NIGHT. On the basis that energy use scales with GDP, this image

is a composite view of population and wealth on planet Earth. Although Australia is the 6th wealthiest nation on

Earth (OECD), we are a long way from the action.

Australia’s significance

EconomicGlobalisation

Resource OwnershipBalance of Trade

National Resource Security

TechnologyImproved and New Technology

Integrated Systems: Power and IronRenewables waste products use

Energy and Steel Consumption Trends

Future Consumer Product TrendsMarketing Trends

Demand Management Technology change

Social ImpactsEmployment, quality of living, health, regional development

EnvironmentGreenhouse and

Renewable targets Waste products use

Strict Emission Conditions

Coal ?

Why CCSD? To contribute to the question from the Australian perspective

The CCSD construct – research for Australia and Australian industry

S and SD assessment

Coal quality evaluation

Technology assessment

Graduates

Collaboration between

Coal using utilities, Coal exporting companies, Universities and CSIRO,

Governments

Undertaking research for the coal industry

Research that makes a difference

Sustainability assessment

Coal use assessment – beyond the burner and stack

New sustainability thinking – adaptability and resilience

Coal science

Know your product – coal quality assessment

Coal performance knowledge – coal reactions

Technology support

Technology assessment – collaboration

Coal use assessment: Complimentary systems tools

• Total systems modelling/thinking is required for addressing triple bottom line issues or sustainability

Sco

pe

Detail

Total systems issues ?

Is it viable ?

Will it work ?LCA

Techno-economicmodels Process

models Expt

Fundamentals

Life cycle analysis - LCA - system

Coal in ground

All processes involved in electricity generation, or cast steel production

Slag or ash (cement credit)Functional unit, GJe, t steel)

Gas usage

Emissions to air

Emissions to water and land

LCA waterfall plot: integrated steel plant

0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0

coal supplycoke ovens

sinter planthot blast

blast furnacepower plant

BOSelectricityaluminiumtransport

otherby-products

gross GGEslag credit

electricity creditnet GGE

GGE (t CO2-e /t cast steel)

Waste displacement credits – ash and slag

Blast furnace Slag grinding

60 kg CO2

1,000kg

a) BF slag processing system(basis 3,500 kg hot metal)

Cement plant(includes clinker grinding)

Limestone andshale quarrying

1,100kg CO260kg CO2

1,000kg

b) Cement system

BF slag cementGGE 60kg CO2-e(equivalent to 1,000kgof Portland cement)

Portland cementGGE 1,160kg CO2-e

No technical or environmental issues

Often limited by attitudes

Product stewardship issue for bothcoal and steel

LCA results - steel (GGE)G

GE

(t

CO

2-e/

t ca

st s

teel

)

NG wellhead stripping

Slag creditElectricity creditNet GGE

Gas based DRI

0.0

1.0

2.0

3.0

4.0

Integ

rated

Corex

Fastm

eltITm

k3

Hismelt

Tecn

ored

Midrex

Finmet

- coal

grid

Finmet

- NG grid

Existing

New coal technology

LCA results - electricity (GGE): Wibberley, PCC 2001

0.00

0.05

0.10

0.15

0.20

0.25

0.30

Lidde

ll

Baysw

ater

Lidde

ll Biom

ass

Superc

ritica

lPF

BCIGCC

Natural

Gas

O-C

Natural

Gas

C-C

Photo

volta

ic

Nuclea

r

Biomas

s IGCC W

indHyd

ro

GG

E (

t C

O2-

e/G

J e) NG wellhead CO2 range

Ash Credit

Non renewable

Biomass decay

Synergies

Solar thermal

30-40% solar conversion efficiency (13% for PV)

Biomass co-firing

35% biomass conversion efficiency (20% for dedicated)

Coal can promote uptake and efficient use of renewables

Coupling of renewables and fossil energy research is essential

Several technologies have been proposed

– 130 MW e per km2

Lowest cost routes to solar electricity

– A$80/MWh @ 100MW eDemonstration plant of

3MW e (av) was under consideration by a number of organisations – ongoing

Solar-coal generation

Solar – coal

Biomass-coal generation

l Guadaloupe, Reunion and Mauritius have installed 6 X 70 MWe dual fuel power stations:

– bagasse (6 month season)– coal (when bagasse unavailable)

l Provide electricity throughout year, while maximising use of renewable energy (biomass)

– economic and social benefits– enables more efficient plants to be built

Source: Good News from Coal, WCI, Nov 1999

Coal-biomass cofiring

Coal bed methane (CBM)

Underground coal mine CBM

Ventilation air (MVA)

Pre-drainage methane(35 - 90% CH4)

MVA (0.2 - 0.8 % CH4)

0 5 10 15 20 25

Indonesia

India

Australia

China

USA

Russia

Turkey

Methane content (Nm3/t)

• World total 30 Mtpa?• only 5% utilisation• ~50% as MVA for

underground mines• biggest GGE benefit from

oxidation, power gives small additional benefit

CBM and MVA use at collieries

CBM utilisation at Appin & Towerl94MWe using 1MWe gas enginesl160kt/a CH4 utilised (pre-drainage gas, some MVA used as combustion air)l3Mt CO2-e avoided annually

MVA oxidation at Appin

•MEGTEC 340kW Vocsidizerunit combusts methane in MVA

•Stage 2 to include power generation

Reduction options

36→50

36→50

36→42

36→40

26→40

36→38

Change in efficiency*

5-7Flyash to cement

10Solar-coal

5-15Biomass-coal

30940→670Emerging IGCC etc

30940→670Ultrasupercritical pf (future)

15940→800Ultrasupercritical pf (now)

10940→840Supercritical pf

351300→840Old coal with new

Replacement

5940→890Incremental improvements

GGE reduction (%)

Change in GGE

Option

* gross, sent out

New sustainability thinking: Adaptability

Adaptability [in a class of environments] is the capacity to modify current adaptations or develop new ones.

– E.g. through lability of mutation/innovation rate, body/technology features, behaviour, organisation, self-organisation.

In a finite world, increasing adaptability and adaptation are often conflicting goals (organisationally and thermodynamically).

New sustainability thinking: Resilience

Resilience is the capacity to recover from a temporary disturbance, to restore an adapted condition.

Eg, functionally equivalent species breeding up as conditions change

Eg, a firms capacity to organise other resource supplies if a supplier fails, spreading investment risk

Apologising for Coal or a Positive Rationale

Consider: “Coal uses are currently economically important, so should not be changed.”

But: “The rationale for coal use should embrace a coherent conception of adaptive change by allying coal’s inherent qualities to a high performance adaptive future”.

This orientation is future and change oriented, as is new sustainability,

The coal industry needs to be able to explain where, and why, coal is important to our future.

Know your product: pf particle organic variability – automated reflectogram

Know your product: pf particle inorganic variability- QemSCAN

Coal particle with ultra-fine, non-visible, clay inclusions (aluminium and silicon peaks) and organic sulfur

C

Al Si S

Coal performance knowledge and collaboration

New knowledge

Coal reactions, slag and ash effects in IGCC

Fine particle formation in pf

NOx from coal N in pf

Collaboration

CRIEPI, IHI, CCUJ, REI etc

Trade, good science for coal and technology relationships

0

10

20

30

40

2000 2010 2020 2030

Year

% im

pro

vem

ent

Technology assessment: Potential power station efficiency improvement ~% CO2 reduction

IGFC

PFBC

A-PFBC

GT-1300

GT-1500GT-1300

GT-1500

IGCC

600 C

700 C

PF / USC

Coal technology roadmap, as presented in Japanese literature

Coal technology roadmap for Australia

Current installations, SC without furnace staging, catalytic systems or scrubbing

And

National Pollutant Inventory and public knowledge will have impact

Demonstration of oxygen blown IGCC with sequestration into mines on the agenda

Industry progressing zero emission coal

GEODISC evaluating CO2 sequestration with enhanced methane recovery

Typical Predicted Demand vs Production from Existing Plants

0

50000

100000

150000

200000

250000

300000

350000

2001

2003

2005

2007

2009

2011

2013

2015

2017

2019

2021

2023

2025

2027

2029

Year

GW

h

Supply from Existing Plant Demand (ABARE) Demand (ESAA)

Opportunity for introducingnew technologies

Many existing plants still operating in 2030

DEMAND

SUPPLY

aggregate containing 10 primary 30 nm particles

5 µm particle

1 µm particle

100 nm particle

mobile macrophage cell containing insoluble particles

red blood cell (erythorcyte)

alveolus (air space) 100 µm approximate diameter

capillary endothelium

alveolar epithelial Type 1 cell (pneumocyte)

interstitial space

Ambient Mass Distribution PM 10 = 100 µg/cubic meter

Dp / µm

dM

/d l

og

dp

0.01 0.1 1 10

Average Deposition # / day / alveolus

Dp / µm

Nu

mb

er/d

ay

0.0010.01

0.11

10100

1000

0.01 0.1 1 10

[Matthews, 1996 #903; Guyton, 1996 #822]1 µm [Netter, 1980 #959]

interstitial cell

surfactant layer

adjacent alveolus

Type II alveolar cell

Research being progressed

Fine ash and health

Waste utilisation Waterusage and the coal chain

Social research in regions depending on coal industries (mining and power)

Imagine life without coal!

Life with coal will continue to pose challenges, while at the same time providing energy security, supporting economic development and underpinning the development of renewables

Wibberley, PCC 2001